Puma keeps losing sales – inventories fall by almost a quarter
Puma posted third-quarter sales of 1.78 billion euros, down 6.3 percent currency-adjusted. The company made a loss and narrowed its forecast for operating profit.
Archive image · Photo: Daniel Cox / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Herzogenaurach-based sporting goods maker Puma posted sales of 1,776.2 million euros in the third quarter of 2026, down 6.3 percent currency-adjusted year on year, according to the company. Operating profit (EBIT) was minus 11.4 million euros, and continuing operations recorded a loss of 54.9 million euros. The gross margin rose to 49.5 percent, helped in part by 29.8 million euros in US tariff refunds. Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa fell 11.5 percent, while Asia/Pacific grew 10.0 percent.
Inventories dropped 24.3 percent to 1,608.9 million euros. For 2026, Puma now expects EBIT of minus 80 to minus 130 million euros, compared with minus 50 to minus 150 million previously. "Our third-quarter performance was in line with expectations as we continued to move PUMA through this transition year," said CEO Arthur Hoeld. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the shares rose about 6 percent in early trading; analysts at Jefferies described a "complex reboot".